Another Haven
by Likuts
Summary: It's been 3 years since Lucius Malfoy had been widowed. Narcissa and Draco Malfoy are dead. After isolating himself in Malfoy Manor, Lucius visits Diagon Alley, only to meet the last person he was expecting to see...Hermione Granger
1. Chapter 1: A Nice Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters**

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**Ch. 1: A Nice Day**

The bright sunlight penetrated through the small gap between the thick, dark green curtains hung on the windows of Lucius Malfoy's room. He grunted and opened his eyes unwillingly. He pushed the cover and got up from the bed. He walked toward the windows and opened the curtains. Sunshine flooded into his room—Lucius had to close his eyes for it was too bright. When his eyes were adjusted to the brightness, he slowly opened them and looked at the view outside. It was a beautiful day— the sun shining brightly, the sky blue and clear, birds chattering on the branches of the deep green trees.

"It's a nice day," murmured Lucius to himself.

He stepped away from the windows and headed to the dining room. When the house-elves saw their master awake, they quickly brought his brunch to the table. Lucius sat down at the table and began eating. The food felt as if it had no taste, but he knew well that it was not because the house-elves have been careless. After he took a few more bites, he put down his fork and rose from his seat. The house-elves looked at their master's sunken face worriedly but dared not speak to him.

Lucius went into the library and picked up a book from the shelf nearby. He sat down on the big, green armchair and delved deep into the book. After about an hour, he closed the book, put it on the table beside him, and headed upstairs.

He reached in front of the room with a big, black double door. Staring at it calmly for a moment, he opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Good morning, Narcissa. Good morning, Draco," said Lucius as he entered the room.

There was no response.

In fact, there was nobody in the room. Lucius just smiled to himself and looked around the room. The room was not too large and had deep-green wallpaper and elegant velvet curtains in silver colour, which gave it the mood of Slytherin. The room was vaguely divided into two parts. One side as filled with various Quidditch equipments: a broom, a full set of Quidditch uniform, a Golden Snitch, and so on. The other side of the room was occupied with a large wardrobe made of mahogany; its design was certainly of top quality and its silver handles were in the shape of serpents. On the wall facing the door—which Lucius was currently facing—there were two large portraits hung beside each other. They were the portraits of Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Lucius walked toward the portraits and smiled at them; Narcissa and Draco in the portraits smiled back at him and waved their hands. He stood in front of the portraits and stared at them for quite a long time, and then he left the room, slightly biting his lips.

It has been three years since the deaths of Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. After Draco was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts by a Death Eater who accused him of betrayal, Narcissa fell ill and never recovered; she soon followed her son, living her husband all alone behind. Lucius Malfoy was the sole occupant of Malfoy Manor now.

Ever since the deaths of his wife and son, Lucius has not gone out once, completely shutting himself up in the Manor. He moved Draco and Narcissa's belongings to the room he visited just now and hung their portraits on its wall. He visited the room every day, just staying there, staring at the portraits of his wife and son, touching the objects which once belonged to them, and feeling their presence in the room.

The room was a haven for him.

During the three years of seclusion, Lucius pondered over many things: the reason that caused the deaths of his wife and son, his choice of joining the Death Eaters, the Battle of Hogwarts, the lost lives of people who fought in it…. When his brains could not handle any more thinking, he went into the library and read whatever book he could grab at the moment. With thousands and thousands of books in the library of Malfoy Manor, there was no shortage in supply for Lucius to read and make his time fly faster.

And this has been the pattern of Lucius Malfoy's life for past three years: waking up sometime between morning and noon; eating brunch (although not much); visiting the room with the portraits of Narcissa and Draco; spending some time in the library, either thinking or reading; eating dinner and then going to bed. Although he did manage to weasel his way out of being punished after the Battle, if anyone had seen him, they would have thought that he had just been released from Azkaban.

Lucius went down to the drawing room. Here, too, was flooded by the bright sunshine coming through the window. He looked outside the window. It was such a nice day that it almost made Lucius feel somewhat weird: he felt as if something was crawling out from the bottom of his heart.

"It is a very nice day," he said to himself.

For the first time in three years, he had a desire to go out of this house.


	2. Chapter 2: Flourish and Blotts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

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**Ch. 2: Flourish and Blotts**

Lucius decided to go to Diagon Alley. He did not know why he was compelled to go to the most crowded place in London, but he did not think it was a bad idea. Maybe people wouldn't notice him as much; maybe he could look around all the shops without people glaring at him to death.

He put on his black velvet robe and stood in front of the mirror. His eyes were sunken, his skin looked like a patch of dried parchment, and his long blond hair has lost its shine.

_'_ _I look awful,'_ he thought.

He tied his hair back into a ponytail with a black ribbon—it made his hair look less tangled —and pinched his cheeks a few times. Colour turned up on his face but soon faded away. He shook his head and gave up. It was not as if he had to impress anyone. Perhaps less people would recognize him. He took one final glance at himself in the mirror and Apparated to Diagon Alley.

Lucius' eyes were widened when he landed on the street of Diagon Alley. It was much more crowded than he ever remembered. Every shop was full of customers—there were many new shops now, Lucius noticed—and even the street was full of passengers. Lucius was soon pushed by people who were moving fast to their own destinations. He gained composure and started visiting various shops of Diagon Alley, hiding himself among the busy crowd.

A few hours passed, and people seemed to be gathering more and more. Used to being alone all by himself, Lucius was on the verge of panicking out, until he saw the familiar sign of _Flourish and Blotts_. Thinking it might be a good idea to add a few new books to his collection in the library, he gladly approached the bookstore.

When he was about to open the door, it suddenly flung open and hit him in the face. He fell to the ground immediately, covering his face with hand.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" A young women's voice exclaimed. "Are you alright, sir? I'm terribly sorry! I didn't see—couldn't see anything in front of me—"

Lucius heard the young women putting something on the floor—sounded like a giant pile of books, he guessed. Then she knelt down and held out her hand.

"Are you alright, sir? Can you get up? Let me see your face."

"I'm…I'm fine," grunted Lucius. "You should look where you are going—"

Lucius stopped talking when he recognized the face of the young witch in front of him. It was Hermione Granger.

She seemed to have recognized him as well, and a look of deep shock appeared on her face, probably due to the immense change that has occurred to his appearance.

An awkward silence took place between them, until a man passing by complained at them for blocking the way. Lucius and Hermione hurriedly got up and moved aside. Yet the silence continued until Lucius finally asked,

"How are you, Miss Granger?"

Hermione, who was staring down at her shoes, started and quickly answered that she was fine.

"Are those all yours?" asked Lucius, pointing at the big pile of books lying on the street. Hermione nodded with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"No wonder you could not see anything."

"I am so sorry, Mr. Malfoy," said Hermione. "I really am—"

"I said I'm fine. So forget it."

Hermione nodded again, still blushing.

"What are those books for? Are you opening up a bookstore of your own?" asked Lucius with the corner of his mouth slightly curled. Hermione's cheeks became even redder than before.

"No, sir. Some of them are for my work and some are for light reading."

Lucius raised an eyebrow at the 'light reading' part—the books seemed far too thick for _light _reading in his opinion—but did not say anything to her.

"So did you get all the books you were looking for?" he asked Hermione.

She seemed a little bit surprised that Lucius was making an effort to continue the conversation but answered him anyway.

"Not really. Some of the books went out of print a few years ago, and those were the ones I really wanted to buy. _The Magical Tales of Magical Creatures, The Life of LaHopkin, the Goblin Revolutionist, The History of House-Elves and Their Relationship with Wizards and Witches_…."

Lucius quietly listened to Hermione listing all the books she wanted to buy, and he asked her—without knowing why he did so,

"Would you like to borrow the ones in my library?"

Hermione lifted her head up in shock. Her eyes were widened and her mouth was slightly opened.

"From your library? You mean—you have these books at home, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, Miss Granger." He calmly replied.

"And you..want me to borrow them from you?" asked Hermione in confusion.

"Yes. You can come to my house right now, in fact, if you have no other engagement afterward."

"To your house?"

Hermione's face became pale all of a sudden, and Lucius soon remembered what had happened to her at his house three years ago.

"There is no one to torture you this time and I will not harm you in any other way. So don't worry."

She did not seem assured but nodded her head nonetheless.

"Alright, then. Take my arm, Miss Granger. I will take you by side-along Apparition," said Lucius as he held out his arm to her.

Hermione grabbed his arm cautiously, and soon they were out of sight from Diagon Alley.


	3. Chapter 3: Questions and Answers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

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**Ch. 3: Questions and Answers**

Lucius and Hermione appeared at the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor. Hermione became pale again as she looked around, for the memory of being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange came back to her; she hastily asked Lucius where the library was.

"This way, Miss Granger," he said, gesturing her to follow him.

After a short walk, they arrived in front of the huge oak door of the library. Lucius opened the door for Hermione and nodded. She swallowed and entered the room in firm steps.

As soon as she entered, Hermione's eyes were widened with delight. The large walls were all covered with tall bookshelves, and there were hundreds of them, all filled with many books. The ancient-looking books that must have been passed down from generations ago especially caught her eyes.

"It's…beautiful!" exclaimed Hermione, turning her face to Lucius with a big smile on it. "It's absolutely gorgeous! Of course, not comparable to the one at Hogwarts, but I think it's the biggest private library I've ever seen!"

Lucius merely nodded at her compliment, and Hermione began looking around the room with wonder and delight in her eyes.

"The ones you are looking for will probably be over there. It's the magical creatures section…" said Lucius as he guided Hermione to the left side of the library. "Let's see…. _The Magical Tales of Magical Creatures_…I think I put it around here last time…"

"Wait, you have read all these books?" asked Hermione, looking at Lucius with a surprised look.

"No, Miss Granger. Getting close though," replied Lucius and Hermione's eyes widened once more.

"It is a natural phenomenon if you've been stuck in the house for the past three years and have been reading almost every day. There is not much to do in this house, especially if you are the only one occupying it."

Hermione thought there was sadness in Lucius' voice, but he did not give her time to continue that thought.

"Ah, here is your book" said Lucius as he picked out a thick book from the shelf. "Here you go, Miss Granger. And I think the Goblin book is by that side—"

"Please don't bother! I will find it! Just tell me where it is." said Hermione abruptly. Lucius looked at her surprisedly but just nodded his head.

"If that's what you want, you certainly can. I will then just finish what I was reading while you find your books."

Then he walked toward where the green armchair was located.

"Also, if you wish to borrow more books, feel free to do so," said Lucius as he sat down on the armchair, opening up the book he was reading this morning.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," replied Hermione feebly.

* * *

Although Hermione originally intended to leave Malfoy Manor quickly after finding the books she was looking for, she got distracted by all the rare books at the library and eventually stayed much longer. There were some books that she has never seen even at Hogwarts, and it seemed fascinating to her to have a library like this at one's own house.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," said Lucius, without lifting his eyes from the book. It was a house-elf who came in.

"Master, is your guest going to have her dinner here? Should I prepare the table for two people?" asked the house-elf. Lucius looked at Hermione for an answer.

"Oh! Me? Dinner?" Hermione started from her seat, realizing that it was already dinner time. As she was about to say that she needed to go, the house-elf turned to Hermione with beaming eyes and said,

"It will be a great pleasure for us to serve Master's guest. This house has been so empty for such a long time."

Hermione could not possibly refuse the offer after seeing such look from a house-elf. "Oh…if that's the case…of course, I will stay for dinner," she replied, to Lucius' great surprise. He did not expect her to want to stay at his house for more that what she came for.

"Is it okay if I stay for dinner, Mr. Malfoy?" asked Hermione, turning her head away from the house-elf.

"Most certainly," he answered.

Then Hermione turned back to the house-elf, and asked tenderly with a gentle smile on her face,

"May I ask you name?"

"My name is Tonka, Miss," replied the house-elf politely.

"And Tonka, um…are you getting paid for your service?"

At that question, Tonka's face suddenly flamed up as if she has been insulted in the worst way possible, and retorted that she would never disgrace herself to such low status. She told Lucius that the dinner will be ready soon and left the room, without giving a glance to Hermione.

It was hard for Lucius not to chuckle at the situation.

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The dinner was splendid. Apparently, Tonka's feeling against Hermione did not affect the quality of the food, probably because she did not want to humiliate her master for treating his guest poorly.

Hermione and Lucius carried a casual conversation as they ate, about their lives and people they both knew. Lucius also asked Hermione what she was doing after school. When she replied that she was working at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Lucius could not help but chuckle again, causing Hermione to blush a little.

"Mr. Malfoy, may I ask you a question?" asked Hermione after long consideration.

"Pray do so," replied Lucius, not lifting his eyes up from the plate.

"Why are you showing me such hospitality?"

Lucius stopped his fork but did not make a reply, so Hermione went on to elaborate on her question.

"I mean…letting me borrow your books and inviting me to dine here with you…. I don't quite follow. Don't you despise associating with _my kind_?"

There was a long silence after Hermione finished her question. Lucius still did not reply but went on eating his food quietly. Hermione was anxious that she might have upset him, so she also returned to her plate, glancing at Lucius worriedly.

"What is your age, Miss Granger?" It took some time for Lucius to finally open his mouth.

"Twenty, sir," replied Hermione nervously.

"So young, still blooming." Hermione noticed that there was no sense of mockery in his tone. "When you grow as old as I am, Miss Granger, you will see that sometimes things don't look the same as they used to."

"What do you mean, Mr. Malfoy? What are you talking about?"

"The question of blood is what I'm talking about. This whole pureblood and Mud—excuse my language—_Muggle-born_ thing…I have come to a conclusion that it all may have been…a mirage….

"I lost my son in the battle…the battle which was aimed to preserve us purebloods and destroy your kind…and my wife soon followed him. And what have I gained from these sacrifices? Nothing. _Absolutely nothing._ I lost my wife, my son, my job, my reputation, and a considerable amount of wealth in addition to that. And it was all for nothing. I lost—_we_ lost. We, the purebloods, who believed that we were superior than anyone else—we got defeated by _your_ kind…the very group we've looked down upon….

"Do you understand, Miss Granger? Do you think I'll give a damn about this blood thing anymore? After all these? I may have made a wrong choice in my life, but I am not stupid. I've learned my lesson this time—I had to."

Then he paused to take a breath.

"…For otherwise, Narcissa and Draco's deaths would have been in vain…. I could not let that happen…."

Hermione did not know how to response to this long confession of Lucius. She was not expecting such sincerity from him. Therefore, just staring at him confusedly was all she could do.

"I see that I have bored you with my long talk, Miss Granger. Do not give it much thought. Just regard it as a grumble of an old widower."

"No, sir," replied Hermione even before she knew what she was saying. "I…I am grateful that you chose to be so frank with me about such matters."

"I must be grateful if you would take it that way," replied Lucius, who seemed to have not expected such response from her.

"I think that…I have made many assumptions about you…most of them…wrong," said Hermione timidly.

"I made an assumption that you are a smart and sensible witch who would keep your tongue, which is why I chose to be frank. Is my assumption wrong?"

"No, sir. I will not speak to anyone about what you have told me this evening."

"Good," nodded Lucius satisfiedly. "See? I've learned my lesson well."

"You surely did, Mr. Malfoy," said Hermione, smiling.

Then they resumed their dinner.

* * *

After dinner, Hermione picked up her books and walked to the entrance hall with Lucius. Though the books weighed heavy, Hermione was too happy and satisfied with the fact that she found new books to read to care about their weight.

"Thank you for kindness today, Mr. Malfoy."

"You're welcome. It was nice to have a company."

"I will return the books by owl."

As she was about to Apparate, Lucius suddenly called her.

"Miss Granger, one moment, please."

"Yes? Do you have something to say?"

"May I ask you the same question?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why are _you _showing me such hospitality?" asked Lucius. "Why did you agree to come to my house? Isn't it _you_ who should be despising me after what we have done to you and your friends?"

Hermione had to consider carefully about how to reply to the question. When Hermione first saw Lucius in front of Flourish and Blotts, what striked her mostly was the change in his appearance: his thin face, dry skin, dishevelled hair…. However, when she got past with the initial shock, she noticed the dark despair in his eyes. Then she remembered what had happened to the other members of the Malfoys, about Draco and Narcissa, and could not help feeling sorry for him. To her, at least at that moment, Lucius seemed no different from other wizards who have lost their loved ones during the War. She could not refuse his invitation, saying "No" to the man who seemed to have lost everything in his life, despite her past experience with him and the painful memory of what had happened at his house.

"Compassion, is it?" said Lucius, after studying the expression on Hermione's face.

Hermione nodded her head reluctantly, and Lucius smiled bitterly. She knew how much her answer would hurt the man's pride, but she thought that she was obliged to show an equal frankness to him after their talk at the dinner table, rather than to lie.

"Do I even deserve compassion? Especially, from you?"

"Everyone deserves compassion, Mr. Malfoy, especially nowadays. We've all lost our loved ones, no matter on which side we were."

Lucius looked at Hermione with a confused expression on his face. His grey eyes displayed regret, shame, sadness, and a mixture of complex feelings that he did not know how to name.

"Miss Granger," spoke Lucius after a long silence.

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you mind coming to my house again next time? You can borrow more books, if you want."

"I will be delighted," replied Hermione, smiling tenderly.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Unfortunately, the next chapter might take some time because I haven't written it yet. But it will come! I promise!**


	4. Chapter 4: Another Invitation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

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**Chapter 4: Another Invitation**

The next time Hermione visited Malfoy Manor, she was more at ease of facing Lucius Malfoy. Although the hostile feelings of the past has not vanished completely, the conversation that they had last time affirmed her belief that no one was purely good or evil; and she was willing to learn more about Lucius Malfoy's good side this time. She thought that was the first proper step of mending the current wizarding society that has been shattered into pieces by the War.

Lucius greeted her at the door and asked if she enjoyed the books she borrowed the last time. Hermione replied that she enjoyed them greatly and they headed to the library again. Lucius picked a book and sat on his favourite armchair to read, and Hermione began another tour of the Malfoy library, still in awe and delight of its scale and possessions. After she picked several new books, they both spent time reading without saying much to each other, and it soon became dinner time.

Dinner was splendid again, and all the house-elves except Tonka served their master's guest with all their heart. They were thrilled with the fact that there was another person to serve at the manor, and that their master was finally having a company after years of solitude.

"How are the Weasleys?" asked Lucius during the dinner. "I heard that Arthur Weasley got promoted." When Hermione affirmed the news, he added with a sneer, "Hmm, the Ministry must be in shortage of human resources." For some reason, however, Hermione did not catch the usual scornfulness in his tone.

"Mr. Weasley is a man of great talent and enthusiasm, which are the qualities that the Ministry is in need especially at this moment" said Hermione, and Lucius merely raised his eyebrow and kept his sneer.

"What happened to his kids? How many are there? Six? Seven?"

"Used to be seven…but…now six."

The look on Lucius' face almost seemed like that of sympathy, but Hermione was not too sure. To change the mood that went suddenly solemn, she began talking about the lighter news.

"But um, did you hear the news? George—you know, one of the twins—had a son two months ago. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seemed very happy. All of us were, in fact. And Ginny—she's getting married to Harry next spring."

"Weasley has a grandson now?" said Lucius. "Ha…I never thought that I would ever envy Weasley…. A grandson…and his daughter getting married…." Then Lucius asked after a short pause, "What about you?"

"Me? What do you mean, sir?"

"You and Weasley's youngest son—are you getting married soon as well?"

"Oh, me and Ron—" Hermione's face stiffened a little bit. "Well, no—because we…um…broke up. We are not dating anymore."

"Oh, forgive me, I didn't know. But you two always seemed to be very well-matched," said Lucius in a curious voice.

"Well, relationships don't always work out as how they seem, Mr. Malfoy. We are just good friends now."

"Hmm, I always have a hard time believing that. In my opinion, you can never be friends with someone you loved. Someone you hated—maybe possible, but never the one you loved."

"If you succeeded in changing your perspective on blood status," said Hermione, "perhaps you could also change your view on that matter as well, don't you think so?" Yet her tone was not serious, and Lucius caught the wittiness in her voice and smiled amusedly.

"You are indeed a very smart witch, Miss Granger. No wonder you beat Draco in every exam."

Hermione laughed lightly at his comment but suddenly paused, realizing that he was mentioning his deceased son.

"Mr. Malfoy," said Hermione.

"Yes?"

"Do you…miss them a lot?"

Lucius did not answer but instead stared deeply into her eyes. Hermione almost shivered when their eyes first met, but she soon recognized the deep emotions hidden behind his grey eyes.

"Miss them?" said Lucius. "Yes…I do miss them a lot…. Sometimes I can't believe that they are gone…. But I have only myself to blame for what happened. It was I who put them in the situation they were in…. As I said before, I made a wrong choice…."

"Aren't you…lonely at this house?"

"Lonely? No, never. This house is all I am left with. Here lived my family for generations and there is no better place for a Malfoy to live. I have all the books to read and Narcissa and Draco's portraits are here, too. So no, never lonely."

"But don't you think you should meet people? Go outside?" asked Hermione.

"Then what? Have people glare at me as if I am filth? I have no standing in the outside world anymore. Everything is lost to me now."

"People are not as unforgiving as you think, sir. They are quite forgetful, really. Plus, your wife saved Harry's life…"

"Which is the sole reason I could manage to stay out of prison. And it wasn't even my deed."

"But…"

"You said people are not as unforgiving? I disagree, Miss Granger. People are forgetful, certainly, I agree with you on that. However, they are never forgiving, especially to someone like me, who reminds them of their past."

Hermione, not quite understanding what he means, looked at him for more explanation.

"People avoid me not because of what _I_ have done, but because I remind them of what _they_ have done. Not everyone stayed clean in the dark days, as you know, but people want to pretend as much as possible that they did. I present an obstacle to them because I hold them back from being forgetful and remind them of their conscience. That is why they will never forgive me."

There was a long silence that took place between them. Although she was not casting away her belief in humanity, Hermione could see where Lucius was coming from.

"How do you think about coming to my place, then?" asked Hermione all of a sudden. Lucius gave her a surprised stare. "I mean, you do need a bit of change in the environment, Mr. Malfoy. You can't live in solitude forever…."

"Miss Granger, the more I get to know you, the more you astonish me."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"No wonder you think people are forgiving…. Is this also because of your compassion? Do you pity me?"

"No, sir, I don't pity you. I just thought that…you might be…"

"Please continue."

"…in need of friendship, perhaps."

There was a pause. Then Lucius broke into laughter. Hermione, feeling embarrassed, looked at him without knowing what she have done to make him laugh.

"Really, Miss Granger, you have a remarkable character. That is all I can say." Hermione was not quite sure if she should take that as a compliment or not.

Lucius stopped his laughter and straightened his face. Then he turned to Hermione and asked,

"What day do you want me to visit your house?"

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**A/N: I am updating this story much faster than I expected myself! I really enjoy writing this story:)**

**Thank you again for reading and reviewing. Hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.  
**


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